Unexpected Encounter
by MinnieCullen
Summary: Can an unexpected encounter on New Year's Eve change Bella life forever?
1. Prologue

Author's note:

I don't own Twilight or any of the character's used in the story. Stephanie Meyer is the genius who came up with Edward and Bella.

This is my attempt at a proper fan fiction...wish me luck!

This is a short intro; the rest of the chapter will be put up during the course of the story when the event takes place.

Unexpected Encounter

Epilogue

Bella PoV

New Year's Eve London.

There are no other words to describe it besides absolutely manic.

I'm so late I literally race up the escalators at St James's Park station. I was supposed to meet Alice and Rosalie two hours ago, so we could get a good spot near Big Ben to see in the New Year. It was so typical that the day I want to leave work early is the day some customer decides to unleash all their miseries of the past year on to me. I can safely say I do not enjoy working in the retail sector.

Running up the escalators makes me eyes go funny from all the moving lines. When I finally get to the top with as much grace as possible in my rush, and with my clumsiness issues I can't seem to find my Oyster card.

What the hell is happening to me tonight?

Why won't anything go right?

I frantically search and finally find it hiding at the bottom of my bag. I get through the barriers and sprint towards the exit. I'm lucky I wore flat pumps tonight, heels would've looked sexier but seriously I can't be standing around in them for hours, let alone running up escalators.

As I approach the exit I collide with a hard muscular wall and grab on to whatever I could to keep me upright. After getting my bearings back I look up to see emerald green eyes looking back at me in bewilderment. The eyes take my breath away and that's before the rest of this strangers face registers. This guy is gorgeous and I suddenly realise I'd grabbed the front of his coat in my effort to regain my balance. I release my hold and take a step back, blushing like a tomato.

"I'm so sorry; I'm running so late and was running so fast I didn't look where I was going." I babbled. I always embarrassingly slurred my words around cute guys.

"Don't be sorry, I didn't mind." The attractive stranger said in the sexiest accent.

_He's American! _I thought.

"If you're heading towards Big Ben they've shut it all off, there's too many people there." He continued

I felt the blood drain from my face just before I heard my phone have a beeping fit in my pocket. It must have been Alice texting me while I was on the tube.

"Someone's missing you." He laughed, which sounded musical, I fell in love with it.

"I was supposed to meet my friends a couple hours ago, but couldn't get out of work on time so I'm late and now by the looks of it I won't get to them anyway." I took my phone out of my pocket to see 10 missed calls, 5 voice mails and 3 text messages, and I couldn't help thinking that I was going to be in trouble from the girls.

The first text read: _Bella_ _you had better be on the tube and not just switched your phone off?_

Second text: _you're on the tube right?_

Their voicemails were hysterical but the last text read: _you're on the tube! _I love Alice she's completely barmy.

I was worried that I couldn't get to the girls.

What was I going to do if I couldn't?

New Years Eve and nothing else to do, plus I really couldn't be bothered to battle everyone on the tube to go home.

"Why don't you call your friends and see where about they are and if it's possible to get to them?" A voice brought me out of my thoughts. The gorgeous American man was still standing in front of me.

"That's a good idea, I'll try calling Alice." I replied.

I expected him to walk away and leave me to it, but to my surprise he didn't.

As I guessed Alice went mad on the phone, they were in the massive crowd right under Big Ben; it was obvious I wasn't going to get to them. I told them to have a good time and not to leave until they'd seen the New Year in. Alice started to feel guilty about me being on my own but I reassured her that I that I would try and get nearer to home to go to a party.

"Do you really have another party to go to?" The Yank asked once I got off the phone.

I blushed, I was a terrible liar and I knew it. "Erm no, but I didn't want to spoil their night."

"So it looks like we're both without plans tonight?" he gave me a crooked smile which was so alluring that I nearly melted on the spot.

"Looks like it. I'm Bella by the way."

"Ah I'm sorry I'm forgetting my manners? I'm Edward, visiting from Washington DC."

"I kinda figured you were American, so if you have no plans how come you're out here?"

"I wanted to come and see the New Year in with Big Ben but didn't know they'd close it off, I got here too late." He shrugged. "Seeing as you don't have any other plans, would you like to see the New Year in together? No pressure and I promise I'm not a serial killer or rapist or any other kind of weirdo. It's a public area, it's pretty safe right?"

I couldn't help laughing; it was me that assaulted him. I couldn't explain it but staying with him felt right and safe.

"I'm willing to take a chance; we can go get drinks from the bar over there and then sit on the river bank to see the New Year in?" With all the craziness around us it was the best idea I could come up.

Thank you for reading and please take a minute to review.

The next chapter will take place a few months before New Years and will give some insight into Bella's life. As the story progresses it will lead to this night and the rest of the chapter will be put up.

Follow me on twitter Twi_FanMinnieC

xxx


	2. Chapter 1

**Unexpected Encounter**

Author's note:

I don't own Twilight or any of the character's used in the story. Stephanie Meyer is the genius who came up with Edward and Bella.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**BPOV**

Shit, shit, shit! I jumped up trying to shut my alarm up at the same time. I can't believe I slept through my alarm again! I'm never going to get to a nine am lecture on time.

"Bella! Get your arse out of bed, you're late again!" Alice, my flat mate was hammering down my door and managing to scream over it too.

"I'm up." I grumbled.

Alice entered my room and skipped over to my bed. "Morning sleepy head." How can anyone be so hyper this early in the morning?

"Alice' you aren't normal, you shouldn't be so chirpy...it's too early!" I groaned trying to shut the noise that was Alice out.

"Bella quit being grumpy and get dressed."

"For something so small' you're awfully annoying Pixie." It was true. Alice barely reached five foot in height but her short jet black hair made up for it. She had a small frame and was always running around like a child high on too many sweets.

"Is she up?" Rosalie, our other flat mate screamed from downstairs. From the way the dishes were clattering around, I guessed she was in the kitchen...poor dishes.

I slowly crawled to the end of the bed dodging Alice who was trying to slap my arse, glancing over at the clock; I had fifteen minutes to get to my lecture. I ran into the bathroom, did my teeth and shower and grabbed the first pair of jeans my hands fell on. Pulling my hoodie on, I bolted downstairs with my bag. Alice was sitting at the table looking at her watch while tapping her foot. Her only saving grace was that she had a bowl of Cheerios waiting for me. Rose, sat opposite Alice, was glaring at her cup of coffee. Like me she wasn't a morning person and hated early lectures. Unlike me, even this early in the day, Rose looked like she's walked off a catwalk, with her gorgeous blonde hair and long legs.

The three of us were all in our final year at university; we all met on our first day in our first year, bonded right away and have been inseparable ever since. I still found it strange sometimes that we got so close seeing as our courses were so different; Alice was studying Fashion, Rose was doing Law and I was a budding Journalist. We were lucky that we'd found a flat during our first year which we could afford and keep for the duration of our courses. The three of us rarely went home to visit our families, leaving trips for special occasions and the summer. Rose was from Birmingham and hated it; Alice loved her hometown, Oxford but preferred the London lifestyle. I personally fell in love with London when I came to visit the university. I was from a little town in Norfolk and although I don't hate it; I felt more at home here in the city.

Rose left for her lecture with me, Alice wasn't due in until midday; God knows why she was up so early. We parted ways once we got to campus and I said I would cook dinner as I wasn't working tonight. My lecture was boring to say the least; the lecturer was still half asleep and I wished I had stayed in bed. After the lecture, I headed to the library to do some research on my media law and ethics assignment because I knew I'd end up leaving it to the last minute if I didn't start now.

"Hey Bella." I looked over in the direction of the voice and saw Mike Newton, a guy on my course waving frantically as he walked towards me.

I groaned internally before replying. "Hey Mike."

"Are you going to the SU later for the comedy night?" He asked with his puppy eyes. Now don't get me wrong, Mike was a great guy if you wanted a poodle following you around all day. "I'm going with Eric and Ben, you could come with us."

"Ah sorry Mike' I'm busy tonight."

"No worries, maybe next time." I didn't want to respond to his last statement so I turned my attention back to my notes from the lecture. "Have you started the assignment?" he asked.

"Not yet, I'm looking at my lecture notes to see what I can use then will look at some books. Have you started it?" I knew he hadn't as I knew he never did assignments until the day before they were due.

"Not yet." He smiled as he sat opposite me and started pulling his books out. I was in for a long morning.

As the morning wore on, I got more work done and had a plan outlined for my essay. Mike was unusually quiet as he worked, which I saw as a blessing because I wasn't really in the mood to make small talk. I just wanted to get my work done so I could have a good night in with the girls. I checked my watch and decided it was time to leave. I needed to go shopping and get some groceries for dinner. I said bye to Mike and headed towards the exit, nearly bumping into Alice on my way out. She was bouncing up and down as per usual.

"Hey Bella, I've invited Angela round for dinner. That's okay right?" She talked so fast I barely caught the jist of what she said.

"Yeah no problem. I'm making lasagna for dinner so there'll be more than enough to go round."

"Lasagna with extra cheese?" Alice squealed.

"You'll have to wait and see." I winked at her before walking away quickly.

XXX

I loved cooking and baking and I was really comfortable working my way around the kitchen. If I didn't have my heart set on being a journalist, my next career option would most definitely have been a chef. Alice and Rose don't really cook much per se so it was usually left to me or the local take away places to provide us with our daily meals. I hummed along to my iPod as I moved around the kitchen, stirring the sauce and preparing the pasta. I knew I should make the pasta myself but it was so much easier buying the readymade lasagna sheets from the supermarket. My secret weapon which made the lasagna extra scrumptious was that I use three different cheeses for the top layer. I used some normal cheddar, mozzarella and some red Leicester; the trick was to get all the quantities just right. It was a family recipe which my gran passed down to me, my mum Renee wasn't much of a cook. she could burn boiling water! Renee did try cooking but after numerous failed dinners, I took over kitchen duty once I was old enough. I felt sorry for my dad, Charlie and wonder how he was surviving on her food while I was at uni. I put the lasagna into the oven once I was happy with it, it would be ready just as the girls got home. Next, I set the table for dinner, it's not much of a dining table; seeing as we are all students but we do occasionally make an effort so have a small thing from IKEA.

XXX

"Oh my god! Bella this is the best lasagna I've ever had!"

"Didn't I tell you that Bella's lasagna is to die for?" Alice looked very proud of herself.

"You did and you weren't joking, this stuff is heaven." Angela sighed contently as she sat back patting her full stomach.

"Thanks Angela, come over anytime. I'm always cooking for us." I was happy that Angela had enjoyed the meal.

"Oh I will do. I'll help Rose and Alice clear up, you can relax now. You've worked hard enough making dinner." With that, she topped my glass of wine up and sent me in the direction of the TV and sofa.

"What's the plan for the rest of the evening girls?" I was happy to stay in but wanted to know what the girls had in mind.

"We could go to the SU; they have a comedy thing on tonight." Rose called from the kitchen; I could hear the poor dishes clattering around like this morning.

"Yeah I heard. Mike Newton asked me to go with him and the guys tonight." I shuddered at the thought of an evening with Mike Newton and co.

"What are you doing sitting here?" Rose came running out of the kitchen and looked at me in shock horror. "You got asked out on a hot date with Mike Newton and you turned him down to make lasagna?" She just managed to complete her sentence before her laughter escaped. I could hear Alice and Angela laughing their heads off in the kitchen too. I threw a cushion as Rose and scowled at her.

"I hear Mike is the most eligible bachelor at the uni, how could you say no to those cute puppy dog eyes of his?" Angela joined in teasing me.

"Shut up! All of you shut up!" I couldn't stop myself from laughing. "Mike is just a friend and if he's such hot property, why don't you girls go and snap him up!" As I said earlier, Mike wasn't a bad guy. He was cute enough but he wasn't dating material and no matter how hard he tried, he just got more nervous and boring. A girl on Alice's course, Jessica Stanley fancied the pants off him but Mike doesn't seemed to have noticed yet, maybe I should point him in her direction so he'll leave me alone.

"You break his poor heart every time you say no Bella, you're so mean!" Alice continued laughing.

"Alice you should get Jessica to talk to him, she can fix his heartbreak." I giggled. "So anyway plans for tonight? SU bar is off limits."

"Maybe you should just hook up with Mike, shag him and make all his dreams come true for one night." It was my turn to look at Rose in shock horror as she looked at me seriously.

"I'm not shagging Mike Newton. I'm not shagging anyone in a hurry." I'd had a nasty break up with my ex, James and I was happy to remain man free for the foreseeable future. Rose didn't do the whole serious boyfriend thing; she was happy to meet a guy, get together, no strings attached.

"Bella, you don't have to get serious with him. Just have a one night stand. It's been a while since you've been with anyone and it'll be good for you to get that sexual frustration out. You never know Mike might be the best shag there ever was, anyway anything has to be better than that arsehole James."

"I don't think so. From what I've heard, he's hung like a horse, if you get what I mean." Angela spoke up.

We all turned and looked at her in disbelief. "You've slept with Mike Newton!" Alice squealed.

"No no no no I haven't! A girl in one of my psych lectures has and we were talking once and she let slip that his dick is huge."

"See Bella, you could have the huge dick to fulfill all your needs." Rose suddenly sounded very interested. "Then you could tell us how big his dick really is and if he knows how to use it."

"No way Rose! I don't care how big he is, I'm still not interested. It's weird how he's still so nerdy though, you'd expect him to be more confident and brag about it."

"Unless this girl was lying, you should totes do it with him and tell us all about it." Rose was actually giggling and clapping her hands now! I couldn't believe it.

"Why don't we go and watch a movie? None of us have early lectures tomorrow." Alice saved me by changing the subject. "We should go and watch The Inbetweeners Movie."

"I really want to see that, it's going to be soooo funny." Angela was in.

"Yeah let's go and do that." Rose agreed.

Ten minutes later, we were all ready to head out to the cinema, we were slightly tipsy from the wine we'd had with dinner but it was nothing a bit of popcorn and ice cream wouldn't fix. The cinema wasn't far so we decided to walk, I'd never had the patience to wait around for busses unless I really, really had to; the tube was so much better.

As we walked past the SU, Rose looked at me and winked. I scowled in return before bursting out laughing. Rose put her arms around my shoulders and hugged me close while laughing. I was undoubtedly going to get more stick from her regarding Mike now that she had more info on his penis!

The cinema was busy, most likely due to Orange Wednesday. As we queued to buy our tickets, I saw a green jacket from the corner of my eye walk into the cinema. I'd recognise that jacket anywhere, it was James. I turned to look to make sure it was him, Rose turned to look in the same direction I did.

"I'm going rip his fucking balls off and shove them down his throat." Rose growled as she started walking towards him.

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><p>Thank you for reading and please take a minute to review, I would love to hear what you think!<p>

Follow me on twitter Twi_FanMinnieC

xxx


	3. Chapter 2

Unexpected Encounter

Author's note:

I don't own Twilight or any of the character's used in the story. Stephanie Meyer is the genius who came up with Edward and Bella.

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><p>"Rose!" I called after her to try and stop her. I started walking behind her followed by Alice and Angela who had both realised that something was horribly wrong. "Rose he isn't worth it." I wasn't happy to see James again, but I had kind of accepted what had happened and didn't want to speak to him again.<p>

Rose got to James in record time considering the crowd of people she had to weave her way through. I was nowhere near as smooth as her and kept bumping into people. By the time I got to her and James, they were near the door. Rose had already started having a go at him surprisingly without causing a scene. She wasn't shouting at him but she was definitely talking to him in her scary voice.

"It's about time I bumped into you dick face. You are a spineless, pathetic excuse for a man, you're not even worthy of being called a man. You're lucky I haven't come to look for you and beat the shit out of you."

"You crazy bitch, what's your problem? What happened between Bella and me is exactly that between the two of us, it's got nothing to do with you so shut the fuck up." James was getting angry which wasn't good; I knew how bad his temper was.

I tried to pull Rose away, but she stood firm squaring up to James. Alice and Angela were standing on either side of Rose leaving me out of James' line of sight. I tried again speaking louder, "Rose leave it, come on, the movie is going to start soon."

"Bella? Is that you hiding behind psycho Rose?" James was taunting me and he knew it. "Tell your nutcase friend to leave me alone or it won't end well for either of you."

How dare he speak to me like that? Who the hell did he think he was? He might have frightened me once but he wasn't going to do it again. I pushed Rose so there was a space between her and Alice and glared at James. "What the fuck are you going to do to me huh? What haven't you already done that you can do to me now?"

"Bella, you don't need to speak to this dick, I'm here to do that." Rose tried to push me back to being behind her but I resisted. "What can you do to us? Shows what a loser you are that you have to hit girls to prove to yourself that you're a strong man! Don't underestimate me because I am more than enough to teach you a lesson. Show you what a woman can really do and see how your manliness fairs up to it."

"She's not alone; Alice and I are with her. You won't be such a strong man up against three girls will you?" I looked at Angela surprised. Alice, I didn't doubt would stand up for me but Angela? I never expected that. She didn't even know why I had broken up with James, no one apart from Rose and Alice knew; I was too ashamed to tell anyone else.

Just then a member of staff from the cinema came over to us and asked what the problem was. He didn't look too confident as he came over. I guessed seeing two people squaring up to each other that are a lot bigger would put anyone off.

"There's no problem here?" Rose answered sweetly with a dazzling smile.

"Ma'am, there obviously seems to be an issue between both of your groups, can I advise you to resolve it or take it outside."

"We'll take it outside." Rose didn't even look at the cinema worker as she pushed James towards the doors. Until then, I hadn't even looked to see who was with James. He wasn't with a girl; he had his friend Laurent with him. Laurent hadn't said anything throughout, I'd always got on well with him and I didn't know if he knew the real truth behind why James and I broke up. We ended up in a quiet spot outside on the side of the cinema where we would attract less attention; I didn't think Rose was done bitching out James yet.

"This is beyond ridiculous; I'm here to watch a movie, not listen to you bitching at me!"

"Tough shit! You're gonna get bitched out whether you like it or not. You also owe Bella an apology before you can even think of going anywhere." Rose was very serious, but I knew James would never apologise.

"Apologise for what? I have nothing to apologise for." James had this smug grin on his face that I wanted to wipe off.

"Apologise for cheating you lying scumbag and then for hitting Bella once you got caught out!" Rose was seething and jabbing James in the chest with every word she said.

Laurent gasped. "You hit Bella? You never told me you hit her. I knew you cheated and figured that's why she dumped you but you hit her too? That's not cool. What the fuck is wrong with you? You don't go around hitting women."

"Yeah. Bella caught me cheating and then started screaming at me, who the hell is she to question me?"

I'd had enough of this shit; I didn't want to hear it anymore and just wanted to go home. I stepped forward cool and calm. "James, I don't give a shit that you cheated. You might think you're some big guy because you cheated but you're not that smart because you got caught doing it and your answer to my question was to slap me. I'm better off without you and am lucky I got away when I did; because I'm sure one slap would have lead on to more. You can also shove your apology up your arse, I don't want to hear it, and in fact I never want to hear anything from you again or see your ugly mug of a face either." With that, I slapped him hard across the face and started walking away. I heard James grunt once I had my back turned to him. I turned around to see Rose kicking him repeatedly in the nuts while Alice and Angela slapping him respectively as he writhed on the floor trying to block their attack.

"That's what you get for messing with Bella arsehole. If I ever see you again, you can be sure there'll be more of this to come." Rose shouted at him before she walked away brushing her hands off.

I was still standing shocked at the state of James. I couldn't believe my girls had done that to him. I loved them and was thankful that I had such good friends. I decided then that once we got back to the flat, I would tell Angela exactly what went on between James and me.

XXX

Once we were back at the flat, we opened another bottle of wine to calm our nerves; we were all still on edge. Once we all got comfy on the sofa, I decided it was time to come clean to Angela, seeing as she had been brave enough to stand up to that brute for me.

"Angela, I need to explain what happened with James." I looked at Rose and Alice who in return gave me encouraging smiles. I took a deep breath and started. "I met James at the SU just after New Years. I don't know if you know but he's doing his at the uni. All I remember is this tall, gorgeous blonde guy with piercing blue eyes walking up to me and asking if I'd like a drink. I was out with some friends from my course and was tired of Mike drooling all over me and was flattered that such a hot guy was interested. We stayed at the SU until it closed talking about everything and anything. We agreed to meet up the next night and went for dinner, before long we were together and he was the sweetest guy I could have asked for. Although at the back of my mind, I knew there was something dangerous about him but I dismissed it because I couldn't figure out what it was so thought I was being paranoid. In May, just before exams started, I went over to James' place to surprise him after a long day in the library. When I got to his flat, I could hear noises from outside as his window was wide open. I peeked through the living room window and saw he was having sex with a blonde girl. I didn't confront him at the time because I was too shocked so I came back here. I caught up with him at his place the next day. I was screaming and shouting at him, asking him what the fuck was he doing shagging another girl etc and he flipped at me. He shoved me against the wall, holding me there with his arm going across my neck and told me I was just a silly little girl. I managed to kick him and get free. That really pissed him off and he slapped me which threw me onto the sofa. I picked myself up and told him to stay the fuck away from me. We were finished. I left with tears streaming down my face and came home. It took Rose and Alice a whole day to get the story out of me, they wanted to go and confront him but I refused, I was just glad to be out of there safe." I took a deep breath as I finished, it felt weird talking about it again.

Angela gasped. "Bella, I am so sorry, if I'd known this earlier, I would have kicked him harder! What a dickhead! You should tell the uni. He doesn't deserve to get away with this. You should report it to the police. God, looks can be deceiving looking at him, you would never in a million years believe he has such a dark side to him. I'm so glad you got away from him without being hurt further."

"Thank you Angela, I really appreciate what you did earlier."

"Right ladies, we've had enough doom and gloom for one evening, let's get some ice cream and put on a Supernatural box set and enjoy some Winchester brother hotness." Rose knew I could never say no to some Dean Winchester ogling.

"I had better not get too comfortable. I need to get back to my flat soon."

"Don't be silly Angela. You can stay here tonight. I'll share with Rose and you can have my room, it's next to Alice's room."

"I don't want to trouble you Bella."

"It's no trouble at all; we'd love to have you stay." It would be nice to have Angela with us. I didn't particularly want her going home alone just in case she bumped into James; I know the chances were nil but still.

XXX

Three hours and a tub of Ben and Jerry's later, we were all drooling over Supernatural without any shame.

"I love Supernatural, it always gets me in the mood for Halloween; and it's only a few weeks away. We need to start preparing now!" Alice squealed like an over excited child. She ran go get her notepad and pen and started brainstorming.

"I love Dean; he's so sexy and manly. I'd be more than happy to meet a demon if Dean came and saved me." Rose sighed dreamily.

"Dean is definitely my favourite human character in a TV show." I drooled. Angela frantically nodded her head in agreement.

Alice jumped up and declared it was time for bed, as she planned on starting her preparations for Halloween from tomorrow. We all kind of followed towards our rooms; I had work in the evening and wouldn't be getting home until late seeing as we were likely to have a delivery due. Why couldn't books be delivered during the day? Not like they're top security items! I shared with Rose, sleeping with Alice always came with a health warning as she was just as hyper in her sleep as she was awake during the day.

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><p>Thank you for reading, please leave a review telling me what you like and what you're not liking so much.<p> 


	4. Chapter 3

Unexpected Encounter

Author's note:

I don't own Twilight but this little story is my creation.

I want to say a huge thank you to my beta TwiLucy-UK you do an amazing job!

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><p>I couldn't believe there were only two days to go to Halloween, the last few weeks had flown by and Alice had gotten worse with her preparations as the holiday got nearer. I still didn't know what I was dressing up as; Alice had made my costume along with Rose's, Angela's and her own. The girl was unstoppable! All I did know was that we were going to the SU for their Halloween party. It would have the cheapest drinks and their decorations were brilliant last year. I was lucky and talked myself out of being roped into working on the day so I could spend time getting ready and making any alterations to my costume. Alice would kill me if I did but sometimes she got a bit too excited. Instead I'm working the late shift today and tomorrow, who the hell would want to buy books at ten at night? I worked in a huge bookstore which was also the flagship store as it was in Piccadilly Circus. When I started here three long years ago, I thought it would be my ideal job because I loved books and reading.<p>

_How wrong was I?_

The books were great, although you never got to read them whilst working. The staff discount I got came in handy for textbooks and any other books me and the girls wanted. For my break, I decided to go to Starbucks and get their caramel frappucino, what can u say I was hooked! While I'm waiting I get a text from Rose: _Are you on your break yet? _I decided to call her and see how her shift was going.

"Hey Rose, I've just gone on my break, are you okay?"

"I'm so glad you're on your break. Come and save me Bella, these people are driving me crazy!"

"What's happened?"

"These bloody customers! It's not my fault the damn make up doesn't hide all of their ugliness!" Let me explain the nature of Rose's job. She worked on a Clarin's counter in one of the big designer stores. All day she's stood there looking fabulous in her red uniform and fuck me red pumps. She asks your average human if they want a makeover and selling the products which they hope to look as beautiful as her. Throughout this she had to have a huge smile plastered across her face, sometimes she came home looking a bit like Joker from Batman ... Heath Ledger did an amazing job! Gutted he died he was HOT. Rose knew she was beautiful but she wasn't big headed about it and she definitely wasn't one of your damsel in distress kind of girls either.

"What have your lovely customers done today?"

"I've had the snottiest bitches in today. I'd love to tell them to get a grip on reality but I've got to stand there with that stupid grin on my face so I don't get sacked. Bloody women don't have the right to look down at us average workers because they're being kept by their husbands who are screwing their secretaries over their office desks every chance they get!" I couldn't help the laughter that escaped my lips as she went on ranting. "Bella, it's not funny!"

"Rose, take a deep breath and calm down. How long until you finish work? Just give the customers your evil look when no one is looking."

"B, they're not just being bitchy to me, it's when they talk down to other customers because they think they're better than them. It pisses me off. How dare they make other people think they're not good enough?"

"Rose, chill. Look, I'm finishing at ten. You want me to come and meet you and we'll get a take away and go home and stuff our faces."

"That's the best plan I've heard all day. I finish at half past ten. I'll try and get out earlier. I'll text Alice and tell we're bringing food home. Thanks Bella. How's your evening going?"

"It's okay, nothing much has happened. The nice supervisor Alec is working tonight so we're all having an easy shift."

"Ah crap, I need to get back to the counter. See you after work. Love you B." I'd slowly walked back to work trying not to get brain freeze from my drink and trying to calm Rose as much as I could. She was one tough cookie but she was also a compassionate cookie, she hated people being unjust, a perfect lawyer in the making.

"See you after work Rose." I looked at the time. I still had five minutes so I sent a quick text to Alice just in case Rose forgot to and went back down to the shop floor. I was on the till today which was boring as we weren't that busy I'd rather be sorting the delivery out.

Just as were closing, I had one last customer to serve and then I was free. I was dying to get out I was so bored and this guy couldn't seem to make his mind up about what he wanted to read. I wondered if it would seem rude if I went up to him and indirectly tried to tell him to hurry the hell up. I looked around. I couldn't see Alec and I knew the other two shop floor assistants would be upstairs. I decided it wouldn't be rude and bit the bullet. "Good evening Sir. Is there anything I can help you with?" I had my professional smile on.

"Er, hi." The man was flustered. "I'm looking for something to read. Sorry that was a bit of an understatement, I wouldn't be in a huge bookstore if I wasn't looking for a book duh!" I stared at this man in wonder and started laughing.

"What kind of books do you usually read?" I took in his appearance he was wearing a really expensive well cut suit and he was huge, built like a bear huge. He must have been at least a foot taller than me, had short jet black hair that blended with his brown eyes. He was a cutie and it clicked he was American.

He looked at me in confusion, oh God maybe I wasn't as discrete as I thought I had been checking him out. "I don't usually read books, but my brother recommended that it's the thing to do when you're in London on a freezing winter's night on business."

I _wonder if his brother was as cute as he was_... focus Bella!

"Okay that explains your baffled expression. What kind of book would you like to read? A classic, something funny, a crime novel or something from our sci fi and fantasy range?"

"Nothing about crime. I have enough of that with work; I'm a lawyer you see. Something funny would be good or even a classic. My brother is always going on about this one book; I can't remember the name of it."

"Is it a classic book?"

"Yeah, let me think." He slapped himself upside the head. I was trying to hold my laughter in; this guy was so funny. He would also be perfect for Rose! "Ah I know it had this guy in it he was really horrible I think his name was Heathecliffe or something like that."

"That would be Wuthering Heights. It's a really good book, I think Heathcliff is misunderstood but that's just my opinion."

"That's funny, my brother also says that! Can I have a copy of that please, I'm sorry I don't know where to start looking; all these books are making my eyes go funny." He offered me a small smile and reminded me of a little boy.

"Yeah, sure, it'd be my pleasure." I smiled at him. I was genuinely happy to help him he'd been the best customer I'd had in ages. "Why don't you go and wait at the till for me and I'll be back in a minute." I took the book back to the counter and the American finally stopped looking terrified.

"Thank you.." He looked at my name badge and smiled, "Bella." I nodded in response. I was deciding whether or not I should be nosy, I was eager to find out more about this man.

"You said you were here on business, you're from the US right?"

"Yeah I'm from Washington, the firm I work for is thinking of merging with a firm from the UK so I'm here for that. I'm Emmett by the way. What do you do apart from working here?"

"How do you know I do anything else apart from this?"

"The look of utter boredom gives it away."

"I didn't think it was that obvious! I'll have to be careful around my supervisor, thanks for the heads up." _God was I that transparent?_ "I'm a journalism student in my final year at uni." I handed Emmett his receipt and bag with his book in it.

"Thank you for all your help Bella and good luck with your studies." He smiled and gave a little wave as he left. I was gutted Rose wasn't here to meet him, she would have loved him. Hopefully he'd be in again before he goes home and I could do some further digging. I couldn't wait to tell the girls about him.

XXX

I had managed to get outside Rose's store before she finished work and was starving. I wanted something greasy and unhealthy for dinner, but would see what Rose wanted first.

"Hey B, whats for dinner?" Rose looked completely washed out.

"I was thinking of a kebab but it's your choice."

"Kebab is perfect, you read my mind. What's up with you? You look kind of keyed up and you're bouncing up and down like Alice."

"I'll tell you all about it when we get home, Alice is going to want to hear this too."

We grabbed three kebabs with chips and headed home as quickly as we could because we were so hungry and wanted to inhale the food.

"Okay we're home now and you've stuffed your face, spill about what's got you so hyper." Rose looked healthier now that she'd had her kebab.

"Alright I'll spill. I had this customer in today, a guy called Emmett. He was a lawyer from Washington and so cute. Rose, you would have loved him; he made me laugh so much! He was seriously built like a bear and it was all muscle, you'd expect him to be this fierce guy but he wasn't he was just a sweet guy. He's here for work and his brother recommended he read a book to pass time because it's so cold and he's here alone. Problem is I don't think he's ever read a book that wasn't a law textbook. He looked like a lost puppy so I helped him out. I'm hoping he comes in again so I can dig deeper, you have to meet him Rose he'd be perfect for you."

"He sounds gorgeous." Rose was drooling, once I told her about his hair and eyes, she was ready to start camping outside my store. I promised that if he came in tomorrow I would tell him about the Halloween party and tell him to join us.

XXX

Emmett didn't come into the store yesterday. I wasn't really surprised; he wasn't much of a reader Wuthering Heights would probably take him months to finish. Halloween was here and as per usual, Alice had outdone herself again. The costumes looked amazing. Rose was a female devil, her costume was skin tight and totally sexy. Angela was a female werewolf. I don't know how Alice made that costume look smoking hot but she managed it. Alice was a fairy and I was a vampire in a black dress and cape.

"Alice, why am I a vampire?"

"Bella you're a vampiressa and you're into all that vampire stuff with your Twilight obsession. You're the sexiest vampire out there tonight. You could even go for the succubus theme." She winked and sauntered off. I had to admit I looked good but had no intentions of seducing anyone tonight.

We all headed to the SU, I concentrated on keeping my balance in my stilettos. It was hard enough walking in them sober; God knows what I was going to be like at the end of the night! The SU was full of people in various fancy dress outfits by the time we got there; the lighting was dim with lots of Halloween decorations. I lost Alice and Rose immediately but thankfully Angela stuck close by. Most people had masks on and the lighting didn't help identify those that didn't. We headed to the bar, if I was going to look like this all evening I was going to need drinks quickly. I ordered two mojitos, while Angela looked around for Rose and Alice. She pointed Rose out in the corner talking to a guy but we couldn't see his face, Alice was nowhere to be seen. I felt a hand touch my shoulder and spun round to see Mike looking up at me. In my stilettos, I towered over him. He was dressed as Frankenstein but all I could think was _he has a big knob_. Looking at him with that thought in mind, he still didn't appeal to me and I still didn't want to shag him...thank God!

"Bella you look amazing." Mike stuttered. I could hear Angela sniggering behind me.

"Thank you Mike, your costume looks really gruesome." I didn't want to say he looked good in case he got the wrong end of the stick, there was no way I was going to be playing tongue tennis with him anytime soon.

"Would you like to dance with me?" He looked at me with those huge round eyes and I nearly caved by accepting. I felt bad.

"My feet are hurting in my shoes, maybe later?" I didn't want to sound like a complete cow. Maybe I would have a friendly dance with him later...with a no touching policy. He smiled at me like I'd just made his year.

"He has a huge knob." Angela whispered into my ear and winked at me.

"I don't care." I whispered back with a wink and smile. Mike completely missed out on the exchange and I found it strange that he was so unsure of himself. If his dick was as big as it was rumoured to be, he should be the one boasting about it. All the other guys did.

I started to loosen up a little, we'd been here just over an hour and I'd had three mojitos. I was feeling a little bit tipsy. Angela looked slightly drunk; she seriously was a lightweight. I was in the mood to dance, but not with Mike, I wanted my girls. Rose and Alice were on the dance floor, moving to the music. The mysterious guy Rose had been speaking to earlier had disappeared a little while ago and hadn't been seen since. I didn't see his face but Rose must've liked what she saw to spend so much time with him. I grabbed Angela's hand and started to take us both towards Rose and Alice, it was time to dance. I started swaying to the music feeling the rhythm in my muscles, David Guetta's 'Gettin' over you' was blaring out around the whole bar. I linked hands with Rose and Alice grabbed Angela and we danced together in a group.

_All the things I know right now_

_If I only knew back then_

_There's no gettin' over_

_No gettin over'_

_There's just no getting over you._

_Wish I could spin my world into reverse _

_Just to have you back again, _

_There's no gettin' over, _

_There's no gettin over, _

_There's just no getting over you (you)!_

_We're back_

_Hey hey I cant forget you baby_

_I think about you everyday_

_I tried to mascarate the pain_

_Thats why im next on the booth_

_D-d-d dance to the groove_

_There is no there is no getting over you._

_Baby it feels so right_

_To dance to the beat up night_

_The heat between you and I retreat to the morning light_

_We like to live like class_

_And pour them shots up in the glass_

_But there is no,there is no getting over you._

_I'm a party, and party and party and party..._

_And party and party and party..._

_I'm a party, and party and party and party..._

_And party and party and party..._

Alice and Rose showed the crowd just how they liked to party by dancing erotically together. Feeling brave and confident, I began to grind up and down Angela as she threw her hands up in the air rubbed herself against me. I could hear wolf whistles in the distance but was too focused on dancing not caring that my feet were protesting wildly in my shoes.

_All the things I know right now_

_If I only knew back then_

_There's no gettin' over_

_No gettin over'_

_There's just no getting over you._

_Wish I could spin my world into reverse, just to have you back again_

_There's no getting over_

_There's no gettin over_

_There's just no getting over you (you)!_

_I'm a party, and party and party and party..._

_And party and party and party..._

_I'm a party, and party and party and party..._

_And party and party and party..._

A few people followed our lead and joined in with the erotic dancing. Rose decided she wanted to dance with me and grabbed hold of my hips and ground her against them. I saw Mike's face out of the corner of my eye and could see his eyes popping out of his head.

_People in the place_

_If you ever felt love_

_Then you know what I'm talking about_

_There is no getting over_

_Aaaaaahhhhhh_

_I'm a party, and party and party and party..._

_And party and party and party..._

_I'm a party, and party and party and party..._

_And party and party and party..._

It was sad to have the song end though I think my feet were thankful. I headed for the bar to get a round of drinks and saw Mike visibly adjusting his trousers and laughed. It made no difference how big his dick was, I still wasn't going to shag him.

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><p>Thank you for reading. Please take a minute and hit the review button to tell me what you're liking and what's pants.<p> 


	5. Chapter 4

Note:

I don't own Twilight or any of the characters, I'm just borrowing them to see where my imagination can take them.

Unexpected Encounter

Chapter 4

It had been two weeks since the Halloween party; Rose won't tell us who the mysterious guy was. Her excuse was that the guy was unattainable so it was moot talking about him. As you can imagine this only piqued Alice and I's interest even more, but Rose had kept tight lipped over the whole thing.

I smiled thinking back to the party. I had apparently well and truly broken Mike's heart as he hadn't spoken to me since. I never did get round to dancing with him on the night. Poor guy can barely look me in the eye now during classes and he hadn't bugged me at the library either. I do feel a little bad for hurting his feelings but seriously, he should've got the message by now; I had knocked him back enough times.

I am currently tidying our flat as my parents were coming to stay for the weekend. They're arriving tonight and will be staying in my room while I bunk with Rose. My dad had decided to take the weekend off from work and fishing in order to spend some quality time with his daughter. In others words, mum had worked her magic on him and persuaded him to take the weekend off. I had spoken to Renee in the week and she had been complaining that I hadn't been home since the summer. I tried to tell her that I would be back at Christmas and just hadn't had the time with the assignments that were being thrown at me from uni. I laughed recalling the conversation and how bizarre it was.

"_Bella you've forgotten all about your mother in this small town."_

"_I haven't forgotten you mum, I've just had a lot of work on." Which I have. Final year is a killer._

"_Does this work involve a man by any chance?" Renee probed. I rolled my eyes at this, if Renee had her way she'd have me up the aisle in a second!_

"_No mum there's no man involved. I'm busy with assignments and work." I hadn't told her about the whole James scenario as I know she'd tell Charlie and he'd coming running to murder him._

"_Oh well I'm sure we can go man shopping at the weekend." Renee mused. "Are Rose and Alice still single or have they hooked up?" I had to stifle a giggle at this as Rose hooks up plenty but not in the way Renee is implying._

"_We're all still single mum and no, we aren't going man shopping. Ever."_

"_I could cook my duck special for dinner on Saturday. Be nice to have a home cooked meal for a change." I didn't even want to know what was special about this duck meal but I knew I didn't want to find out either._

"_No mum there's no need for that, you're coming to have a break and spend some time with me. We'll eat out and enjoy ourselves."_

"_Okay honey as long as you're sure." I nod in response even though I know she can't see me. "Bella I need to go now, I need to go and be pampered for my big trip."_

"_What big trip?"_

"_My trip to London of course! I can't come to London looking like a haggard small town wife."_

"_Mother you've been to London loads of times to see me!"_

"_I know but I still need to look good."_

"_Alright mum, I'll see you Friday."_

"_Love you Bella."_

"_Love you too mum."_

The girls had been relieved when I told them that I would not be letting Renee cook over the weekend. The plan was to go out for dinner on Friday night and I would make something on Saturday. Charlie could probably do with a decent meal; I may even make extras so he can freeze them at home.

XXX

It was 3pm, Charlie and Renee should have been here two hours ago. Their train should have arrived in London at 12:30. I was slightly worried as to where they had got to. I have tried ringing their mobiles and they were going straight to voicemail.

I decided to text Alice and Rose; they would put my mind to rest.

'_Charlie and Renee haven't arrived. I'm worried.'_

I sat staring at my phone willing it to ring. _Could I send telepathic messages to my phone? _It didn't look like it, because it wasn't ringing or even lighting up.

I began to pace around the flat wondering where they could have gotten too. Renee had always wanted to go to Madame Tussauds but that wouldn't explain their mobiles going to voicemail, and surely they wouldn't go without me...would they?

I fired up my laptop to do an extensive search of the trains and tube lines, to see what delays there were. TFL was running with a good service on all lines...hmm how often had we heard that? The trains didn't have any problems either and according to National Express my parents train had arrived on time.

As I was beginning to panic my phone buzzed with a message from Alice.

'_Renee probably wanted to go to the shops.'_

I replied back without missing a beat.

'_That doesn't explain their mobiles going straight to voicemail.'_

'_They've probably forgotten to charge their mobiles. It wouldn't be the first time and not it's surprising.' _I had to admit Alice had a point. Charlie could just about switch his mobile on. Renee could never remember what her charger was for let alone remember to charge her phone. I was worrying for no reason.

XXX

"Rose its 4.30, mum and dad should definitely be here." Rose had raced home from uni expecting to see Renee and Charlie. She was looking worried now too.

"I think you're right Bella, have you tried ringing them again?"

"Yep, going straight to voicemail."

"Have you checked TFL again?"

"Nope."

"Check TFL and see if the tube lines are all okay."

"There are a couple minor delays. Do you think they got caught up in those Rose?"

"Possibly, it depends where Renee decided to take Charlie. Let's go out and try and find them."

"But Rose where would we start looking? Shall we go and get Alice first and then hunt them down together?"

"Okay, I'll call her and tell her to meet us at the entrance."

I kept trying to call Renee and Charlie but was having no luck. We left the flat and hurried over to uni, and Alice was waiting impatiently for us. That girl's hyperactivity never ends!

"Bella don't look so worried, we'll find them and when we do you'll see that all the stressing was for nothing."

"I hope you're right Alice." I smiled weakly at her.

We walked towards the flat in case Charlie and Renee had arrived and were waiting outside. We were all busy thinking of places they could have gone to, there were so many that Renee loved going to. We decided the best plan of action would be to split up and search the most likely places, giving us the best chance of finding them.

"Bella, there you are! We thought you'd forgotten we were coming today." Renee came running up to me with various bags in her hand. I looked up shocked to see my mother looking at me like I was mad.

"Mum where the hell have you been?" I was trying to keep my voice at a normal level, but honestly the relief I felt at seeing my parents was making it hard to maintain my voice.

Renee looked at me surprised. "Erm we went to get some cakes for you girls and then ran into all sorts of trouble. So you didn't forget that we were coming?"

"No I didn't forget that you were coming. I've been sat at the flat watching the bloody clock for the last 3 hours!"

"Bella, honey what's wrong?" Renee's voice had a hint of alarm.

"I'll tell you what's wrong; I've been worried sick out of my mind. All sorts of thoughts have been going through my mind about what could have gone wrong. Why you and dad hadn't arrived yet. Where were you?" I felt my shoulders release as if the world's weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I was fighting the tears that were trying to escape my eyes.

"Oh Bella honey. I'm so sorry. Let's go inside and Charlie and I will tell you girls all about it."

"Bells we didn't mean to get you so upset." Charlie looked at me guiltily as he apologised. I nodded at him to show him I'd accepted his apology.

XXX

"Right tell me where you got to." I had calmed myself down after Alice and Rose gave me the look telling me to chill out.

"Well sweetie we got to London and thought we would go to that bakery you girls love Hummingbirds to get you some cakes. We got the cakes and then got back on the tube to get to you but then something went wrong and we got stuck on the train in the tunnel for ages. Then they said we had to get off the train and walk through the tunnel. I was so scared but this lovely young man helped me. Charlie was carrying all the bags and I told him I'd send him back in the tunnel to get the bags if he left any behind." Rose, Alice and I sat opposite my parents staring at them wide eyed.

"All this happened and the whole time that stupid TFL site was telling me there were no delays!" I would be writing a very stern letter of complaint to TFL.

"I don't know how you cope with all the madness Bells; Norfolk is so much quieter and peaceful." Charlie wasn't keen on London. I knew Renee always struggled persuading him to come and visit. I know he loved me and missed me but London just wasn't his kind of place he felt uncomfortable and out of place.

"Forget all that Bella, the important thing was this lovely man. I wish you'd been with us, he would've been perfect for you." Rose sniggered beside me.

"What did he look like?" Alice was always the inquisitive one; I threw her a dirty look which she laughed at.

"He was tall, dark and handsome. Oh and he had an American accent that made my knees weak." Renee blushed scarlet as she described him.

"He sounds perfect Bella." Alice cooed. "I wish you'd been with Renee and Charlie, and then I could plan your wedding!" Alice clapped her hands as she thought about this.

_I live with a complete loon! _I thought to myself.

"He sounds great mum. I'm gutted I missed being stuck on the tube for hours with him." I quipped sarcastically.

"Enough boy talk, what's a man got to do to get some food round here?" Charlie grumbled.

XXX

The rest of the weekend was uneventful; Renee wouldn't stop talking about the mystery guy on the train. Charlie admitted that he had been a gent in helping Renee however he didn't get the huge appeal. H e was just an average Joe Yank. Alice had planned my wedding and honeymoon by the time Renee and Charlie had left us on Sunday evening.

We took Charlie and Renee to Busaba Eathai in Soho for dinner on Friday; Charlie looked worried until he tried the food. He was a meat and two veg type of guy, the sound of Thai food was enough to give him the jitters. However his mind was changed by the wonder of Calamari, which is one of my favourite dishes so I was ecstatic to see that he really enjoyed it too.

I cooked for us on Saturday and we all had a quiet night in watching DVDs. I made my special lasagne and ensured I made extras so Charlie could freeze some at home. Rose and Alice loved having Charlie and Renee over, they'd been adopted into our little family. Sunday we enjoyed a picnic in Regent's park, the weather had been bizarrely mild and good enough to venture out in.

XXX

I was packing my bag for my Christmas trip home, I had been extremely organised this year. I had completed all my assignments early and made sure I'd kept up to date with my reading so I could take a real break and spend some quality with Renee and Charlie at home. I'd also been doing loads of overtime at work and had a healthier balance than normal and had enabled me to buy some really good presents. Rose, Alice and I had had out Christmas dinner last night; all three of us had slaved in the kitchen for the duration of the day. Rose and Alice had paired up and bought me a Kindle, by far one of the best presents I had ever been given.

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading. Please take a second to hit the review button below and let me know what's good or bad!<p>

x


	6. Chapter 5

**Unexpected encounter**

**Author's note:  
><strong>

**Twilight doesn't belong to me.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 5<span>  
><strong>

New Year's Eve London.

There are no other words to describe it besides absolutely manic.

I'm so late. I literally race up the escalators at St James's Park station. I was supposed to meet Alice and Rosalie two hours ago, so we could get a good spot near Big Ben to see in the New Year. It was so typical that the day I want to leave work early is the day some customer decides to unleash all their miseries of the past year on to me. I can safely say I do not enjoy working in the retail sector.

Running up the escalators makes me eyes go funny from all the moving lines. When I finally get to the top with as much grace as possible in my rush, and with my clumsiness issues I can't seem to find my Oyster card.

What the hell is happening to me tonight?

Why won't anything go right?

I frantically search and finally find it hiding at the bottom of my bag. I get through the barriers and sprint towards the exit. I'm lucky I wore flat pumps tonight. Heels would've looked sexier but seriously I can't be standing around in them for hours, let alone running up escalators.

As I approach the exit, I collide with a hard muscular wall and grab on to whatever I could to keep me upright. After getting my bearings back I look up to see emerald green eyes looking back at me in bewilderment. The eyes take my breath away and that's before the rest of this strangers face registers. This guy is gorgeous and I suddenly realise I'd grabbed the front of his coat in my effort to regain my balance. I release my hold and take a step back, blushing like a tomato.

"I'm so sorry; I'm running so late and was running so fast I didn't look where I was going." I babbled. I always embarrassingly slurred my words around cute guys.

"Don't be sorry, I didn't mind." The attractive stranger said in the sexiest accent.

_He's American! _I thought.

"If you're heading towards Big Ben they've shut it all off, there's too many people there." He continued

I felt the blood drain from my face just before I heard my phone have a beeping fit in my pocket. It must have been Alice texting me while I was on the tube.

"Someone's missing you." He laughed, which sounded musical, I fell in love with it.

"I was supposed to meet my friends a couple hours ago, but couldn't get out of work on time so I'm late and now by the looks of it I won't get to them anyway." I took my phone out of my pocket to see ten missed calls, five voice mails and three text messages, and I couldn't help thinking that I was going to be in trouble from the girls.

The first text read: _you had better be on the tube and not just switched your phone off?_

Second text: _you're on the tube right?_

Their voicemails were hysterical but the last text read: _you're on the tube! _I love Alice she's completely barmy.

I was worried that I couldn't get to the girls.

What was I going to do if I couldn't?

New Years Eve and nothing else to do, plus I really couldn't be bothered to battle everyone on the tube to go home.

"Why don't you call your friends and see where about they are and if it's possible to get to them?" A voice brought me out of my thoughts. The gorgeous American man was still standing in front of me.

"That's a good idea, I'll try calling Alice." I replied.

I expected him to walk away and leave me to it, but to my surprise he didn't.

As I guessed Alice went mad on the phone, they were in the massive crowd right under Big Ben; it was obvious I wasn't going to get to them. I told them to have a good time and not to leave until they'd seen the New Year in. Alice started to feel guilty about me being on my own but I reassured her that I that I would try and get nearer to home to go to a party.

"Do you really have another party to go to?" The Yank asked once I got off the phone.

I blushed, I was a terrible liar and I knew it. "Erm no, but I didn't want to spoil their night."

"So it looks like we're both without plans tonight?" He gave me a crooked smile which was so alluring that I nearly melted on the spot.

"Looks like it. I'm Bella by the way."

"Ah I'm sorry I'm forgetting my manners? I'm Edward, visiting from Washington DC."

"I kinda figured you were American. So if you have no plans, how come you're out here?"

"I wanted to come and see the New Year in with Big Ben but didn't know they'd close it off, I got here too late." He shrugged. "Seeing as you don't have any other plans, would you like to see the New Year in together? No pressure and I promise I'm not a serial killer or rapist or any other kind of weirdo. It's a public area, it's pretty safe right?"

I couldn't help laughing; it was me that assaulted him. I couldn't explain it but staying with him felt right and safe.

"I'm willing to take a chance; we can go get drinks from the bar over there and then sit on the river bank to see the New Year in?" With all the craziness around us it was the best idea I could come up.

"Sounds good to me, let's go." He smiled.

The bar was packed you could hardly move inside. I don't even know what it was called, all I know is that Edward insisted on paying extortionate prices for our drinks. We ended up buying a bottle of rose wine and a bottle of champagne. We grabbed two plastic cups and headed out to find a spot to sit or stand. We found an empty spot on the wall and sat down facing each other, and Edward did the honours of opening the wine. The light from a nearby lamppost lit up his frame as he worked with the bottle, even with his duffle coat I could see the muscles in his arms flexing. I looked at his face intently to see he had the most defined jaw line I'd ever seen. This man oozes sex appeal; he obviously spent a lot of time at the gym. His hair was bronze with a hint of golden and looked soft...I desperately wanted to touch it.

"Here's a toast to unexpected encounters." I raised my glass and 'clinked' our plastic cups.

"What brings you to London alone New Year's Eve?" I asked curiously.

"I came to London two days ago for work. I'm a lawyer and my firm is in the process of merging with a Lawyer's office based here. I came alone and am not due to go back until the 3rd of January."

"Wow, you're a lawyer, you're smart. I'm going to be such crap company for you tonight!"

"Not at all Bella, I'm the luckiest guy in London to be spending the new year with you."

My heart skipped a beat and I smiled shyly.

"Thank you." I mumbled pathetically.

"Tell me about yourself?" Edward asked.

"I work in retail at the moment and am studying to be a journalist. I'm from Norfolk but live in London, obviously. I love reading, and read a wide range of genres, and I dream of travelling around America one day." I was babbling again, so I stopped there and shut up.

"What's your favourite book?"

"I don't have a specific one. From my supernatural collection my fave is Twilight. From the classics I love Wuthering Heights and from my chick lit books it has to be P.S I love you. Do you read?"

"I do and my favourite book is Wuthering Heights, too, but don't tell anyone." He winked. "Heathcliff is so misunderstood. I've heard of Twilight it's the one with the vampires and human girl right?"

"Yep, vampires who sparkle. I'm surprised you know that much about it, but I guess you can't get away from it in America. Guys aren't really into it over here."

"It has taken over the US for sure but my ex girlfriend was a huge fan of the series so I know a little about it. Let me guess you're a vampire girl?"

Ex-girlfriend? Does that mean he's single? I wondered.

Why am I even thinking this? I chastised myself. I'd only known the guy five minutes.

"Yeah, I'm the vampire fan. The whole werewolf thing doesn't do it much for me." I laughed.

"So how is it that you don't have a boyfriend that is gluing you to his side tonight?"

"I could ask you the same thing except it'd be a girlfriend." I smiled at him.

"I'm single. Doing what I do means I work long hours, most girls can't handle it and plus I haven't really met anyone that I want to change for...until now." Edward gazed at me in a way that made my heart swell.

"I was going out with a guy for a while; he turned out to be a total arse so up until now I've been avoiding guys." I made myself say.

"His loss. If he was an ass with you then he's the biggest fool out there." I blushed crimson again. He's obviously a smooth talker I guess it comes with the job.

"So how am I going to get to know the man that I'm starting the New Year with?" I mused aloud.

"Ask me anything."

"I don't want to pry." I responded.

"We could play a game like twenty questions and get to know each other." As he spoke his eyes were sparkling with excitement. Could he really be excited to get to know me too?

"Okay... I'll start with an easy one. What's your favourite colour?"

"Blue." I could tell he was enjoying this. "What's yours?"

"Red." I replied without hesitation.

"You would look beautiful in red." Edward said confidently making me blush again as he smiled at me.

I cleared my throat, preparing my second question. "What's your favourite destination to visit?"

"Up until this morning I would've said Milan but as of this evening it's London." He looked me straight in the eye as he answered. "Tell me your biggest dream?" His question took me by surprise. I took a minute to think about it; I could see him getting impatient and I involuntarily let out a giggle.

When did I start giggling like a school girl?

"It's not my biggest dream but certainly a great desire" I said timidly. "It's to fall in love with an amazing guy and have him love me back. The relationship in Twilight is so intense and passionate. I want that with a guy, like we simply cannot live without each other." I whispered the ending bearing my soul to a complete stranger.

"Bella, you will feel that kind of love with the right man. Any guy in his right mind would cherish you for eternity if he had enough sense. I know I would." I looked to see if he was serious and the grave look in his eyes left me with no doubt that he was.

"Thank you." I whispered not being able to speak properly. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat again. "My turn." I grinned at him. "If you could change one thing in your life what would it be?" I changed the direction of questioning to lighten the atmosphere because I could feel electricity sparking between us. I think the wine was affecting me.

"I would be living in London." He didn't even think about it. "What's your favourite recent song?"

"Katy Perry, Firework." "What's yours?"

"I can't tell you that, you're going to laugh at me." He was the one blushing now.

"I promise I won't laugh." I was intrigued but trying to keep a straight face.

"It's Katy Perry's Firework."

I looked at him in disbelief.

"You're only saying that because I did. You can tell me what your real favourite song is."

"No, I'm being honest it's my favourite song. I love it, it's a brilliant song and really catchy. I have all her albums" Oh my God he was serious; I couldn't help laughing and then stopped when I saw his mortified expression. "You can make your excuse and leave now." He whispered. This comment sobered me.

"Why would I leave?"

"Because it's lame for a guy to be into Katy Perry's music, I mean don't get me wrong she's hot as hell but I love her music too." The confident Edward had been replaced by an exposed one. "Apart from my best mate you're the first person I've told. I even hid it from my ex girlfriend."

My heart skipped a beat with this piece of information.

I was in on the secret.

I moved closer to him and put my hand over his. "I'm not going anywhere. It's great you like Katy, I like her too. It would take a lot more than Katy Perry to send me running." I didn't think I could run away even if I wanted to. "Have you ever seen her live?"

"Yeah once, took my best mate with me. She put on a great show!" He replied with a smile creeping onto his lips.

"I have tickets to go and see her at the O2 in a few months. I'm really excited!"

"You'll love her." He exclaimed. The confident guy and heart-swooning grin were back.

I breathed a sigh of relief into the cold air.

"I'm happy you didn't walk away." He laughed. "That would have been heartbreaking." He gave me the crooked smile and for the second time tonight I nearly melted.

Big Ben chimed midnight.

It was officially 2012 and I was welcoming it with the most amazing guy. He handed me my champagne, I leaned in more than necessary and felt his warm breath on my face. Before I knew it his soft lips were on mine, they tasted better than anything I'd ever experienced before. The kiss was slow, unhurried and conveyed my feelings of the night. It was perfect.

"Happy New Year." I sighed after we broke apart.

I could hear the fireworks erupting in the sky, but they couldn't distract me. I was totally and utterly consumed by the man in front of me.

"Happy New Year to you too Bella and thank you for sharing it with me."

We toasted and drank while holding each other's hand; the champagne was surprisingly quite nice and sweet. I didn't want the night to end but knew it would soon enough. I could see the crowd ahead dispersing, it would be time to say good bye soon. My heart ached just thinking about it.

We sat there for a while longer talking about the New Year and what we hoped the next year would hold for both of us. I found myself hoping that Edward would be in my future. Time flew by and before we knew it, good old Ben chimed to let us know it was 2am...time to go home. The tube was closed so it would be a long, lonely cab ride home.

"How far do you live from here?"

"Not too far, it shouldn't take too long in the cab." I sounded miserable even to myself. It was exactly how I felt at the thought of leaving him. "How are you getting back to the hotel?"

"I'll walk, take in the sights. London is beautiful at night. I will walk with you until you find a cab."

We stood up stiff from sitting down for so long in the cold. I could feel him watching me as I sorted my scarf out; I looked up at him and smiled. We stepped towards each other and he enveloped me in his arms, I felt I'd reached home. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight, I never wanted to let go.

"Thank you for giving me the greatest night for as long as I can remember. I am so grateful to my boss for sending me to London." Edward breathed in my ear.

We walked hand in hand towards the traffic to try and hail me a black cab which didn't take long unfortunately. I wanted to prolong every moment we had left together.

The driver said he would get me to Strand as quick as he could.

"Can you make sure she gets home safely?" Edward pleaded with the driver.

I laughed. "Edward I'm not a kid, I'll be fine." I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Bella, would you mind giving me your phone for a minute?" I was confused but handed it over without questioning him. He played around with the keys and handed it back.

"I've put my cell number in. I don't know what tonight was but it was something."

I called his number. "Now you have my number." There was no promising of contacting each other as soon as possible or of seeing each other again.

Tonight wasn't about making promises. It was an epic night that was to be treasured.

We gave each other one last hug and prepared to head our separate ways back to reality. I got into the cab and waved goodbye as the cabbie drove me away.

Was it possible to fall for someone after only spending a few hours together?

I think it was.

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><p>Thank you for reading, please hit the review button below and let me know what you think.<p>

x


	7. Chapter 7: New Years Eve

A/N: I don't own Twilight or any of the character's used in the story. I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long to go up! I will aim to update more often.

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><p><span>Chapter 4: New Years Eve<span>

New Year's Eve London.

There are no other words to describe it besides absolutely manic.

I'm so late I literally race up the escalators at St James's Park station. I was supposed to meet Alice and Rosalie two hours ago, so we could get a good spot near Big Ben to see in the New Year. It was so typical that the day I want to leave work early is the day some customer decides to unleash all their miseries of the past year on to me. I can safely say I do not enjoy working in the retail sector.

Running up the escalators makes me eyes go funny from all the moving lines. When I finally get to the top with as much grace as possible in my rush, and with my clumsiness issues I can't seem to find my Oyster card.

What the hell is happening to me tonight?

Why won't anything go right?

I frantically search and finally find it hiding at the bottom of my bag. I get through the barriers and sprint towards the exit. I'm lucky I wore flat pumps tonight, heels would've looked sexier but seriously I can't be standing around in them for hours, let alone running up escalators.

As I approach the exit I collide with a hard muscular wall and grab on to whatever I could to keep me upright. After getting my bearings back I look up to see emerald green eyes looking back at me in bewilderment. The eyes take my breath away and that's before the rest of this strangers face registers. This guy is gorgeous and I suddenly realise I'd grabbed the front of his coat in my effort to regain my balance. I release my hold and take a step back, blushing like a tomato.

"I'm so sorry; I'm running so late and was running so fast I didn't look where I was going." I babbled. I always embarrassingly slurred my words around cute guys.

"Don't be sorry, I didn't mind." The attractive stranger said in the sexiest accent.

_He's American! _I thought.

"If you're heading towards Big Ben they've shut it all off, there's too many people there." He continued

I felt the blood drain from my face just before I heard my phone have a beeping fit in my pocket. It must have been Alice texting me while I was on the tube.

"Someone's missing you." He laughed, which sounded musical, I fell in love with it.

"I was supposed to meet my friends a couple hours ago, but couldn't get out of work on time so I'm late and now by the looks of it I won't get to them anyway." I took my phone out of my pocket to see 10 missed calls, 5 voice mails and 3 text messages, and I couldn't help thinking that I was going to be in trouble from the girls.

The first text read: _you had better be on the tube and not just switched your phone off?_

Second text: _you're on the tube right?_

Their voicemails were hysterical but the last text read: _you're on the tube! _I love Alice she's completely barmy.

I was worried that I couldn't get to the girls.

What was I going to do if I couldn't?

New Years Eve and nothing else to do, plus I really couldn't be bothered to battle everyone on the tube to go home.

"Why don't you call your friends and see where about they are and if it's possible to get to them?" A voice brought me out of my thoughts. The gorgeous American man was still standing in front of me.

"That's a good idea, I'll try calling Alice." I replied.

I expected him to walk away and leave me to it, but to my surprise he didn't.

As I guessed Alice went mad on the phone, they were in the massive crowd right under Big Ben; it was obvious I wasn't going to get to them. I told them to have a good time and not to leave until they'd seen the New Year in. Alice started to feel guilty about me being on my own but I reassured her that I that I would try and get nearer to home to go to a party.

"Do you really have another party to go to?" The Yank asked once I got off the phone.

I blushed, I was a terrible liar and I knew it. "Erm no, but I didn't want to spoil their night."

"So it looks like we're both without plans tonight?" he gave me a crooked smile which was so alluring that I nearly melted on the spot.

"Looks like it. I'm Bella by the way."

"Ah I'm sorry I'm forgetting my manners? I'm Edward, visiting from Washington DC."

"I kinda figured you were American, so if you have no plans how come you're out here?"

"I wanted to come and see the New Year in with Big Ben but didn't know they'd close it off, I got here too late." He shrugged. "Seeing as you don't have any other plans, would you like to see the New Year in together? No pressure and I promise I'm not a serial killer or rapist or any other kind of weirdo. It's a public area, it's pretty safe right?"

I couldn't help laughing; it was me that assaulted him. I couldn't explain it but staying with him felt right and safe.

"I'm willing to take a chance; we can go get drinks from the bar over there and then sit on the river bank to see the New Year in?" With all the craziness around us it was the best idea I could come up.

"Sounds good to me, let's go." He smiled.

The bar was packed you could hardly move inside, I don't even know what it was called, all I know is that Edward insisted on paying extortionate prices for our drinks. We ended up buying a bottle of rose wine and a bottle of champagne. We grabbed two plastic cups and headed out to find a spot to sit or stand. We found an empty spot on the wall and sat down facing each other, and Edward did the honours of opening the wine. The light from a nearby lamppost lit up his frame as he worked with the bottle, even with his duffle coat I could see the muscles in his arms flexing. I looked at his face intently to see he had the most defined jaw line I'd ever seen. This man oozes sex appeal; he obviously spent a lot of time at the gym. His hair was bronze with a hint of golden and looked soft...I desperately wanted to touch it.

"Here's a toast to unexpected encounters." I raised my glass and 'clinked' our plastic cups.

"What brings you to London alone New Year's Eve?" I asked curiously.

"I came to London two days ago for work, I'm a lawyer and my firm is in the process of merging with a Lawyer's office based here. I came alone and am not due to go back until the 3rd of January."

"Wow, you're a lawyer, you're smart. I'm going to be such crap company for you tonight!"

"Not at all Bella, I'm the luckiest guy in London to be spending the new year with you."

My heart skipped a beat and I smiled shyly.

"Thank you." I mumbled pathetically.

"Tell me about yourself?" Edward asked.

"I work in retail at the moment and am studying to be a journalist. I'm from Norfolk but live in London, obviously. I love reading, and read a wide range of genres, and I dream of travelling around America one day." I was babbling again, so I stopped there and shut up.

"What's your favourite book?"

"I don't have a specific one. From my supernatural collection my fave is Twilight. From the classics I love Wuthering Heights and from my chick lit books it has to be P.S I love you. Do you read?"

"I do and my favourite book is Wuthering Heights, too, but don't tell anyone." He winked. "Heathcliff is so misunderstood. I've heard of Twilight it's the one with the vampires and human girl right?"

"Yep, vampires who sparkle. I'm surprised you know that much about it, but I guess you can't get away from it in America. Guys aren't really into it over here."

"It has taken over the US for sure but my ex girlfriend was a huge fan of the series so I know a little about it. Let me guess you're a vampire girl?"

Ex-girlfriend?

Does that mean he's single? I wondered.

Why am I even thinking this? I chastised myself. I'd only known the guy five minutes.

"Yeah, I'm the vampire fan. The whole werewolf thing doesn't do it much for me." I laughed.

"So how is it that you don't have a boyfriend that is gluing you to his side tonight?"

"I could ask you the same thing except it'd be a girlfriend." I smiled at him.

"I'm single, doing what I do means I work long hours most girls can't handle it and plus I haven't really met anyone that I want to change for...until now." Edward gazed at me in a way that made my heart swell.

"I was going out with a guy for a while; he turned out to be a total arse so up until now I've been avoiding guys." I made myself say.

"His loss. If he was an ass with you then he's the biggest fool out there." I blushed crimson again. He's obviously a smooth talker I guess it comes with the job.

"So how am I going to get to know the man that I'm starting the New Year with?" I mused aloud.

"Ask me anything."

"I don't want to pry." I responded.

"We could play a game like twenty questions and get to know each other." As he spoke his eyes were sparkling with excitement. Could he really be excited to get to know me too?

"Okay... I'll start with an easy one. What's your favourite colour?"

"Blue." I could tell he was enjoying this. "What's yours?"

"Red." I replied without hesitation.

"You would look beautiful in red." Edward said confidently making me blush again as he smiled at me.

I cleared my throat, preparing my second question. "What's your favourite destination to visit?"

"Up until this morning I would've said Milan but as of this evening it's London." He looked me straight in the eye as he answered. "Tell me your biggest dream?" His question took me by surprise. I took a minute to think about it; I could see him getting impatient and I involuntarily let out a giggle.

When did I start giggling like a school girl?

"It's not my biggest dream but certainly a great desire" I said timidly. "It's to fall in love with an amazing guy and have him love me back. The relationship in Twilight is so intense and passionate. I want that with a guy, like we simply cannot live without each other." I whispered the ending bearing my soul to a complete stranger.

"Bella, you will feel that kind of love with the right man. Any guy in his right mind would cherish you for eternity if he had enough sense. I know I would." I looked to see if he was serious and the grave look in his eyes left me with no doubt that he was.

"Thank you." I whispered not being able to speak properly. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat again. "My turn." I grinned at him. "If you could change one thing in your life what would it be?" I changed the direction of questioning to lighten the atmosphere because I could feel electricity sparking between us. I think the wine was affecting me.

"I would be living in London." He didn't even think about it. "What's your favourite recent song?"

"Katy Perry, Firework." "What's yours?"

"I can't tell you that, you're going to laugh at me." He was the one blushing now.

"I promise I won't laugh." I was intrigued but trying to keep a straight face.

"It's Katy Perry's Firework."

I looked at him in disbelief.

"You're only saying that because I did. You can tell me what your real favourite song is."

"No, I'm being honest it's my favourite song. I love it, it's a brilliant song and really catchy. I have all her albums" Oh my god he was serious; I couldn't help laughing and then stopped when I saw his mortified expression. "You can make your excuse and leave now." He whispered. This comment sobered me.

"Why would I leave?"

"Because it's lame for a guy to be into Katy Perry's music, I mean don't get me wrong she's hot as hell but I love her music too." The confident Edward had been replaced by an exposed one. "Apart from my best mate you're the first person I've told. I even hid it from my ex girlfriend."

My heart skipped a beat with this piece of information.

I was in on the secret.

I moved closer to him and put my hand over his. "I'm not going anywhere. It's great you like Katy, I like her too. It would take a lot more than Katy Perry to send me running." I didn't think I could run away even if I wanted to. "Have you ever seen her live?"

"Yeah once, took my best mate with me. She put on a great show!" He replied with a smile creeping onto his lips.

"I have tickets to go and see her at the O2 in a few months. I'm really excited!"

"You'll love her." He exclaimed. The confident guy and heart-swooning grin were back.

I breathed a sigh of relief into the cold air.

"I'm happy you didn't walk away." He laughed. "That would have been heartbreaking." He gave me the crooked smile and for the second time tonight I nearly melted.

Big Ben chimed midnight.

It was officially 2012 and I was welcoming it with the most amazing guy. He handed me my champagne, I leaned in more than necessary and felt his warm breath on my face. Before I knew it his soft lips were on mine, they tasted better than anything I'd ever experienced before. The kiss was slow, unhurried and conveyed my feelings of the night. It was perfect.

"Happy New Year." I sighed after we broke apart.

I could hear the fireworks erupting in the sky, but they couldn't distract me. I was totally and utterly consumed by the man in front of me.

"Happy New Year to you too Bella and thank you for sharing it with me."

We toasted and drank while holding each other's hand; the champagne was surprisingly quite nice and sweet. I didn't want the night to end but knew it would soon enough. I could see the crowd ahead dispersing, it would be time to say good bye soon. My heart ached just thinking about it.

We sat there for a while longer talking about the New Year and what we hoped the next year would hold for both of us. I found myself hoping that Edward would be in my future. Time flew by and before we knew it, good old Ben chimed to let us know it was 2am...time to go home. The tube was closed so it would be a long, lonely cab ride home.

"How far do you live from here?"

"Not too far, it shouldn't take too long in the cab." I sounded miserable even to myself. It was exactly how I felt at the thought of leaving him. "How are you getting back to the hotel?"

"I'll walk, take in the sights. London is beautiful at night. I will walk with you until you find a cab."

We stood up stiff from sitting down for so long in the cold. I could feel him watching me as I sorted my scarf out; I looked up at him and smiled. We stepped towards each other and he enveloped me in his arms, I felt I'd reached home. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight, I never wanted to let go.

"Thank you for giving me the greatest night for as long as I can remember. I am so grateful to my boss for sending me to London." Edward breathed in my ear.

We walked hand in hand towards the traffic to try and hail me a black cab which didn't take long unfortunately. I wanted to prolong every moment we had left together.

The driver said he would get me to Strand as quick as he could.

"Can you make sure she gets home safely?" Edward pleaded with the driver.

I laughed. "Edward I'm not a kid, I'll be fine." I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Bella, would you mind giving me your phone for a minute?" I was confused but handed it over without questioning him. He played around with the keys and handed it back.

"I've put my mobile number in. I don't know what tonight was but it was something."

I called his number. "Now you have my number." There was no promising of contacting each other as soon as possible or of seeing each other again.

Tonight wasn't about making promises. It was an epic night that was to be treasured.

We gave each other one last hug and prepared to head our separate ways back to reality. I got into the cab and waved goodbye as the cabbie drove me away.

Was it possible to fall for someone after only spending a few hours together?

I think it was.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading, please take a minute to review and let me know what's good or bad. x<p> 


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